Government review reportedly set to overhaul classification system for gig economy workers

UK media sources have claimed that the government review of modern employment practices will recommend the creation of a new category of worker – the “dependent contractor” – to reflect the nature of the “gig economy”. At the moment, many couriers working in the on-demand delivery sectors are officially classified as “self-employed contractors”. However, unions have been arguing that they should be seen as “workers”, and therefore entitled to benefits such as sick pay and holiday leave and receive at least the minimum hourly wage.

The government review – chaired by Matthew Taylor, the head of the Royal Society of Arts and a former Tony Blair adviser – is due to be published tomorrow (Tuesday, 11 July).

An article published on the BBC news website has claimed that the yet-to-be-published report will recommend that “dependent contractors” should receive sick pay, holiday leave and also be “covered by some of the minimum wage requirements”.

The BBC article also claimed that the report will “outline a structure obliging firms to show that a person working for them can earn at least 1.2 times the present national living wage of £7.50 an hour for over-25s”.